Edison Wins Lawsuit On Will Property Tax

A Will County judge has ruled in favor of Commonwealth Edison in a lawsuit that challenged the way Will County computed its property tax levy for 1992 and 1993.

The decision by Judge William Penn could force the county to rebate more than $980,000 in property taxes collected for those years.

State's Atty. James Glasgow said he intends to appeal the ruling, which was issued Thursday.

The suit challenged the county's practice of treating its Worker Compensation and Tort Immunity funds as separate levies not subject to the state tax limit imposed on counties without home rule powers.

The two funds are used to pay court judgments against the county arising from lawsuits.

Edison contended that a 1995 state law permitting counties to create special levies to pay off lawsuits did not apply to previous years.

Penn agreed, saying the taxes were illegally collected to the extent they exceeded the limit of 25 cents per $100 of assessed value that counties are allowed to tax for operations.

County Executive Charles Adelman (D-Lockport) says the county cannot afford a loss in tax revenue.

"It could put us in a bind," Adelman said.

Art Massa, an Edison spokesman, said the company has won a similar suit against Will County over 1991 taxes, and a suit on 1994 tax collections is pending.

The utility has filed similar tax suits "in virtually every county where we have plants," Massa said. "Obviously we felt this was something we needed to rectify, and it's been rectified."

Glasgow said the 1995 measure passed by the General Assembly was intended to clear up confusion and not to change the way the two funds were handled.

"The legislators have intended all along that these levies would be over and above any general . . . rate limit," Glasgow said. "I am confident we will be successful on appeal."